Polarity determination of zinc oxide nanorods by defocused convergent-beam electron diffraction

The crystal polarity of wurtzite zinc oxide nanorods grown hydrothermally parallel to the c = [0001] direction has been determined by convergent-beam electron diffraction using a defocused probe. The method enables a simple comparison of the diffracted intensities in +/- 0002 reflections across side-on nanorods, demonstrating growth in this case is in the c = [0001] direction. The method is shown to be viable for nanorods down to about 11 nm in diameter.